Envelop sealing and stamping machine.



J. E. LEDERMAN. v ENVELOP SEALING AND STAMPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FIL-ED JUNE 24, |912.

' Patented 001;. 19, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Jhnlflledfman,

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 1:0.,wAsmNnToN. x5. c.

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1. E. LEDERMAN.

ENvELoP SEALING AND STAMPING MACHINE.

Y APPLICATION HLED JUNE 24. 1912. 1,15*?,1 13. Patented Oct. 19, 1915.

'NFFED lieilhl PATENT @FFfDE JOHN E. LEDERMAN, or CHICAGO, ILLINOis, Asistencias? MEsNE AssrGNiviENirs, 'ro MULrIrOs'r COMPANY, OE no'CHEsrEE, NEW YORK, a CORPORATION or NEW' YORK.

ENVELOP SEALING AND STAMPING MAENE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

rateiitea oet. ipe, reis.

originati appication aiea ect-ore: 2, reir', sei-'iai No. 652,229. Divided and this appiiction ined time 2:4',

1912. seriaiNo'. 705,405.

To all whom t may concern.' l s Be it known that I, JOHN LEDERMAN, a' citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Envelop Sealing and Stamping Machines, of which the following is a specification. A

My invention, which is based on subject# matter divided out of my prior applicatioi No. 652,229, filed October Q, 1911, relates to improvements in envelop sealing and stamping machinery and has for one object to pro,- vide a new and improved means for feeding' the envelops from a containing hoppero'r supply pocket to theY sealing and stamping device as illustrated diagrammatically in one foi-in of the accompanying drawings', where-v Il- Figure l shows a detailed plan view of a portion of the sealing and stamping machine with my device attached; Fig. 2' is a section along line 2 2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a detailed fragmentary plan view of the bottom of the receiving hopper; Fig. t, a section along line 4 4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a section along line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Like letters refer to the several drawings. Y

The side frames A; of the sealingand stamping machine, indicated only in part, are connected by the inclined cross bar A,

like parts throughout and carry tlietwo feed rollers A?, A3 on the shafts, and are driven by the gearst A6, A7 from any suitable` driving means not shown.

The hopper B, which is made up of the front wall B1 and the side Walls B2 supporting the half bottom B3, is rigidly mounted on the frames A and has the slidable shutter or gate Bt slidably mounted on the front wall B1 and is provided with the outward and downward projection B5 riding on the floating roller BG. rllhe envelops B7 are contained within the hopper, resting 'upon the half-bottom B3 and either remain in a horizontal position or drop down on the floating roller BG as the case may be. r1`he vertical guide BS, mounted on the pivoted arm Bf), is hel'd byr means of the spring .B10 against the rear edge of the envelops B7 and holdsA The reciprocating false bottom C, ,having the extending 'l"head C1, is slotted at@ and held slidable position beneath the bottoni `B3 biy' the lugs C3 and C4. The tension spring Clocate'd in the slot C2 attached at one end to thev bottom B3 and at the other end to the fa'lse bottom C, holds `the false bottom C yieldingly in' a forward position as indicated in Fig. 3, thus supporting the enw'elops in a horizontal position. The' lugs C upwardly projecting from the false b'ottom C strike the bottom B3 and limit the forward motion of the falsev bottoni C. The envelop feeding plate D, having the chiseb s'hjaped edge ,D1 is s'lidably mounted at either end in the slots D2 in the side pieces A and is reciprocated by the arms D3 which are mounted on the shaft D5 and whosel ends are slidable in the blocks D* which blocks are pivoted on the opposed lends of the enthe roller shaft A4 so that the rotation of Y the roller causes' thev envelop feeding'y plate D to reciprocate. VThe lugsl Ds downwardly project frointhe false bottom C in the path of the envelop feeding plate D and are adapted to be struck by it on the rearward motion so that the false' bottom may be retracted when the feeding plate is retracted, thus permittingtheA envelope to drop so that the upper and inner surfaces"v of the flaps D'J may be contacted by the chisel edge D1;

1t ,will be evident that while 1 haveV shown in my drawings an operative device, still many changes might be'inade in sire', shape and a'rrangei'neii't of parts without departing materially from the spirit of my invention and 1 wish, therefore, that my draw! ings be regarded" as inl a sense diagrammatic.

`The use` and operatioi'i of my invention are as follows: r1`he envelope are placedL in the envelop hopper back down, that is with the flap on thel down side such manner that the top edge of the envelop faces the feed rollers. The machine is then started, the rollers rotate` and thev crank on the drive shaft reciprocates the envelop"v feeding rplate. This plate feeds 'forward over the meistening roller and engages the inside of the' flap of the' envelop; it then` feeds forward past thel downwardly depending apron in the envelop hoppeigraisin'g it to permit the passage of a single envelop. rlhe false or movable bottom in the hopper comes forward with the envelop feed plate, thus holding the column of envelops stiff, preventing their sagging down. This prevents the flap on the neXt to the last envelop in the pile from catchinrr anv obstructions or perforations in the bottom envelop. The envelop is fed over the large idler roll upon which the apron rests and the pressure of the apron on the envelop and roll brings the flap up against the envelopV feeding plate which meanwhile has been moistened by the moistening roller, thus moistening the flap. l The feed strip goes on until the envelop is inserted between the first feed rolls, when it withdraws, allowing the envelops to be fed through the machine by the feed rolls. As the envelop feeding strip moves forward after the envelop has beenl allowed to drop downby the withdrawal of the false bottom, it permitsthe false bottom to come with it and for a major portion of its stroke the vfront edge of the false bottom is in front of the edge of the envelop feedingV strip, and thus at no time do any of the envelops in the hopper rest upon the feeding strip, (and itis only after the envelop has been withdrawn from the bottomof the pile that the feeding strip supports it and then it onlv supports Va single envelop. The curved front edge of the false bottom of course permits the false bottom, as it feeds forward, to straighten up the envelops and arrange them in their original horizontal position without distorting them or catching them on any projecting parts.

The idea of the function of the false bottom is that owing to the arrangement of the parts when the false Vbottom and the feeding plate have been withdrawn to allow the envelop and flap D9 to drop down there will be more or less sagging of the envelop pile and this sagging would permit the envelops to be supported at one end onl the part B3 and at the other on the roller BG. Vhen the envelops are in thispositionthere will be` .a tendency for the envelop, if'provided with the front aperture so frequent nowadays for the address, to catch on the flap of the envelop immediately above it and this would crumple Vand tear the envelops. rlhe function of the false bottom is to hold the envelops ina horijiontal position and prevent their sagging when the feed strip begins to feed the bottom envelop or slide it from the bottom of the pile. lt will at once be evident that some such support is needed to prevent this jarring and catching of the envelops, for the feed plate itself could not be relied upon because it is placed so low Y down that the envelops would still sag and also because, owing to its light weight, its thinness and its rapid movement, the weight of the envelop column would be very unde- V.port-ion of the flap and feed it between the part B3 and the roller B6, and this sharp edge might cut or mar or otherwise damage the envelop if it were allowed to touch the envelop pack after it has sunk down to permit the flap to drop to a point where the envelop feed plate can act ,upon it. The curved edge of the stiff, heavy, slowly moving, spring actuated false bottom fulfils all the necessary functions and supports the envelop column as above noted in such position that the danger of any catching of the adjacent envelops one upon the other is entirely obviated.

l claim:

l. ln an envelop feeding machine, an envelop hopper the bottom of which is open to permit the flap of the lowermost envelop to drop down, means for engaging said flap to feed the envelop transversely from the hopper, anda reciprocating false bottom arranged to close the open bottom of the hopper as the lowermost envelop is being removed.

2. ln an envelop Vsealing and stamping machineY an envelop hopper the bottom of which is open to permit the flap of the lowermost envelop to drop down, an envelop feedi 3. ln an envelop sealing and stamping mi machine an envelop .hopper the bottom of which is open to permit the flap of the lowermost envelop to drop down, an envelop feeding plate arranged to engage with the flap of the lowermost envelop and a reciprocating false bottom located above said feeding plate, and means for interposing said bottom ybetween Ysaid feeding plate and the envelops before the feeding plate commences to move the bottom envelop in the hopper.

4. ln an envelop sealing machine, an envelop hopper having a two-part bottom, one of'which parts is arranged to be withdrawn from below the envelops, leaving the hopper bottom open to permit the flap of the lowermost envelop to drop down, a reciprocating envelop feed plate, and means for causing the movable'part of the hopper bottom to reciprocate in'unison with the feed plate.

5. In an envelop feeding machine a hopper having anopen bottom through which the Hap of the lowermost envelop may drop, a feeding plate and means for reciprocating said plate to engage the flap and feed the envelop laterally out of the hopper and reciprocating means for supporting the envelops in said hopper while said feeding plate is operating.

6. lIn an envelop feeding machine a hopper having an openbottom through which the flap of the lowermost envelop may drop, a feeding plate and means for reciprocating said plate to engage the iap and feed the envelop laterally out ofthe hopper and reciprocating means for supporting the envelops in said hopper while said feeding plate is operating, said means comprisingv a reciprocating false bottom operating in unison with said feeding plate. Y

7; In an envelop feeding machine a hopper and a support along one side of the bottom thereof, a slidably mounted botto-m member carried by said support and adapted to be projected beyond its inner edge to form a continuation of the hopper bottom and means for alternately drawing said member lpeneath said support and projecting it thererom.

8. VThe combination with an envelop containing hopper and means for feeding envelops therefrom of a two-part bottom ytherefor, said bottom being located above the feeding means, and means for reciprocating part of said two-part bottom.

9. The combination with an envelop containing hopper and means for feeding envelops therefrom of a two-part bottom therefor, and means for reciprocating part of said two-part bottom in unison with the feeding means whereby as the feeding means operate to deliver an envelop, thesaid part of the bottom is moved to support the envelops, and when the feeding means are retracted and inoperative, the said part of the bottom is withdrawn from below the envelops.

v10. The combination with an envelop containing hopper and means for feedingenvelops therefrom of, a two-part bottom therefor, said bottom being located above the feeding means, and means for reciprocating part of said two-part bottom in yunison with the feeding means whereby as the feeding means operate to deliver an envelop, the said part of the bottom is moved to support the envelops, and when the feeding means are retracted and inoperative, the said part of the .bottom is withdrawn from below the envelops.

11. The combination with an envelop containing hopper and means for feeding envelops therefrom of a two-part bottom therefor,

and means for reciprocating part of said two-part bottom responsive in their operations to the reciprocations of the feeding means. f

12. The combination with an envelop containing hopper and means for feeding envelops therefrom of a two-part bottom therefor, said bottom being. located above thefeeding means, and means for reciprocating part Copies of this patent may be obtained fer of said two-part bottom whereby itis carried l under the envelops in the hopperiwhile the feeding means deliver an envelop therefromy and is withdrawn from beneath the envelops while the feeding meansare inactive responsive in their movements to thefreciprocations.

of the feedingfmeans. v

' 18. The combination with an'envelop containing hopper of a horizontally disposed fixed plate on one side of the bottom, a roller on the other side of the bottom and a false bottom reciprocating between said plate and said roller.

14.- The combination with an envelop con! taining hopper of a horizontally disposed fixed plate on one vside of the bottom, a roller on theo-ther side of the bottom and a false bottom reciprocating between said plate and said roller and means for feeding envelops from said hopper across said roller.

. 15. The combination with an envelop containing hopper of a horizontally disposed fixed plate on one side of the bottom, a roller 17. A feeding device for envelops andthe like comprising a hopper having a rigid bottom along one side, a false bottom slidably mounted on said rigid bottom adapted to project over to lill the space left unfilled by the rigid bottom, means for feeding material from 'the hopper, the false bottom being movable in unison with the feeding means,

y yielding means for forcing the false bottom inwardly to fill the open space, and a connection between the false Vbottom and the feeding means whereby the false bottom is withdrawn when the feeding means. are

moved rearwardly. l

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, U.k S. A., this 21st day ofJune, 1912.

- JOHN E. LEDERMAN. f

Witnesses:

FRANCIS W. PARKER, Jr.,` LILLIAN G. Ross.

ve cents each, by addressing the Commissionerof Patents,

Washington. I). C,

- on the other side of the bottom and a false ybottom reciprocating between said plate and lio 

